Bottle closure



.. --Dec.g20, 1927.

'w. B.'BALLou E1' AL BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed Deo. 28 1925 Patented Dec. v20, 1,927.

A1PAiii-E Nfr oFF-ICE? WALTER B. BALLOU AND HOWARQ M. BALLOU, QF NORTH ATTLEBORO, MASSA- CHUSETTS. i

BOTTLE oLosURE.

Application med December 28,1925. serial No, 77,921:

This invention relates to bottle'closures, and is intended toprovide a device' of this kind which shall be.l capable of repeate'dand permanent use -ondifferent bottles after the -originalcork has beenremoved so that v'the stopper ymay be repeatedly removed'andreplaced with ease Vwithout injuring'the'stop-V per or impair-ing its efficiency as afsealing device. At thel same time the vaccumulation l0 'of 'dust or dirt on lthe Aedge of the bottle mouth or openingis preventedby an appropriate shield or guard whichdispenses with the need ofwviping off the edge of the yb ott'le before pouring out-liquid. The device is so organized andy assembled thatv the parts are detachable, thereby permitting their Ause for kindred purposes.l v

To this end the invention comprises a sealing stopper or cork element-combined-with a detachable cover or `shield by means pf a coupling n iember,-preferably in the form of a-cork-screw which, when the parts are ssembled, forms a pull member or handle grip removably interlockedwith the sealing member, but withoutl impairment or inJury to the sealing stopper, while being available for removal of the original cork in the bottle before the permanent bottle closure is 1nserted. Y y

This and other features of the invention will be particularly explained in the followv ing specification, and will be defined inthe claims hereto annexed.

In theaccompanying drawings: n

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly 1n section, showing the construction and arrangement of the improved bottle closure as it is applied to a bottle whose neck portion is shown in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a bottom end View of the Vcomplete device. l

Figure 3 is a side elevation showing the shield and sealing stopper in reversed relation to form a measuring or drinking cup.

' Figures il, 5, 6 and 7 are detail views showing separate parts forming the stopper element.

In the practice of this invention, according to the form illustrated in the drawings, the stopper element that is insertable into the mouth or neck of the bottle comprises au interior sleeve or tube 1, whose upper end is flared out to form an end flange 1, and whose lower end, after the insertion of a plug' 3, offwood or-other Asuitable material,

is spun into formanannular retaining lipV "or'shoulder 1b. lsleeve y'is provided withjan interior shoulder Intermediate of its' ends the or ledge' wliichmay beform'ed in any convenient manner 'for engaging the vscrew of the'coupling member-,fwhich Vforms the' means for securing the lexterior lshield 6 [firmly to the interiorstopper' element.V In this case thisv ledge Vor shoulder'is formed by upsetting a lportionof the metal sleeve l, so to form a short inwardly 'projecting tongue 2. Thefunperfend portion of the stopper elementi-comprises afliaredV `thimble 5, whose smalllend portionis secured to `the flared flange lof the sleeve 1, by soldering or in anyconvenient manner;y L

The shield vorfdust-protecting cover comprisesa bel-leshaped orffunnel shaped cup,

whose uppervfandfsmall endfedge is turned inwardly to forma narrowv inturned lip 6a. The interior1 ofthe small end of this shield member is shaped to lit snugly over the upper end or thimblemember 5 of the stopper so that the lower edge of the shield is correctly positioned around the neck 0f the bottle and spaced away from the stopper to allow the stopper to be forced tightly into f the neck of the bottle.

The peripheral covering layer 1c of cork fits tightly over the exterior of the sleeve so as to abut snugly against the exterior thimble 5.y The lower end of the stopper is sealed by a cap-screw 4, whose cap or head is preferably flared as at 4a to form a snug seat making a tight joint with .the adjacent end of the lcork member 1, when the screw is screw-ed tightly into the retaining plug 3, located inside the lower end of the sleeve member 1. It will, therefore, be seen that the cork layer is firmly held between the exterior cap .La of the cap-screw and the upper thimble 5 on the sleeve, and the interior bore through the stopper is tightly sealed by the firm engagement between the cap L@and the adjacent cork element.

VThe complete stopper shown in the lower part of Figure 8 is firmly seated in the contracted upper end portion of the sleeve 6, and the two parts are held firmly together in proper relation by means of the securing member which, in this case, is preferably in the form of an attaching screw having a handle 7 and a yspiral o r screw-shank 8, project-ed from the boss portion 7 of the handle and fitting snugly inside the sleeve l. An

annular should-er 7b, by its engagement with the inturned end 6EL of the shield, holds the parts firmly together when the shank or v"screw Vportion 8 of the pull member is screwed into the stopper by reason of its interloeking engagement with the ledge or shoulder 2 on the sleeve.

The handle 7 of the pull member facilitates easy removal ofthe stopper fromthe bottle and isit-self removable for use as a f*cork-screw to extractV the original cork in the bottle to permitinsertion of the permanent sealing stopper with its dust-excluding shield. Sincelthe pull member penetrates only a portion of the cork and does not itself come into engagement with the corkof thel stopper, the cork remains unimpaired for further and repeated use since its lower end is permanently sealed by the cap-screw.

Not only is the cork-screw, which 4forms the pull member of this permanent bottle closure removable for extracting theporiginal cork, but by its removal the funnel or cup-shaped shield 6 may be separated from the sealing stopper for use as a funnel, If

desired to use the shield 6 as a measuring or drinking cup its small end may be coma pletely closed by4 insertion of the cap-screw end which is conveniently made to snugly fit the lsmall end of the shield, as shown in Figure 3, while. the stopper, in such case,

1. In a bottle closure, the combination of a stopper element' embracing a cork-covered sleeve, a removable funnel shapedjshield Whose smaller end forms a seat for( engaging l and supporting the upper end2 of, the stopper, anda cork screw insertable Vinto the sleeve to form interlocking engagement therewith to secure the sealing stopper land shield detachably together while providing a handle for the extraction of the element from a bottle;

2. A bottle closure deviceembracing stop-V per, shield, and handle members secured together to form a combined stopper and dust shield telescoping both the interior and the exterior of the bottle-neck Vand being detachable from each other to permit their separation and reassembling in reversed relation to form a handled ymeasuring cup.

In witness whereof, we khave subscribed the above specification. J WALTER B. BALLOU. Y

HOWARD BALLOU. 

